Z-Man Pro ShroomZ Ned Rig Jighead Review
- By: Justin Ritchey
- on
Have you used a NED Rig jighead for Inshore Gamefish?
When should you fish with a ned rig over other types of jigheads?
This technique has quickly gained popularity amongst inshore anglers as an Ultimate Finesse Approach for picky fish, and it’s surprisingly effective.
Learn more below!
Ned Rig Jighead Review
The Ned rig, formerly known as the Midwest finesse technique, was conceptualized by a popular outdoor writer named Ned Kehde.
The objective is to use light, short soft plastic lures to target picky fish.
There are several different weight options to these jigheads ranging from 1/10 oz. to 1/3 oz.
For most inshore applications, the sweet spot is anything from 1/10 oz. to 1/4 oz.
If you are fishing in deeper water you can try the 1/3 oz. jighead.
One of the main benefits of using the ned rig jighead is to have a controlled presentation on the descent.
You want to use the lightest lures and jighead possible to present this offering as intended.
The hook Z-Man uses for the ned rig jigheads are a 2/0 hook that is a bit more robust than their finesse counterparts.
Another thing that stands out immediately is the keeper attachment on the shank of the hook.
It is not the same as barbed keepers on other Z-Man jigheads.
This means stretchy and elastic soft plastic lures will pair excellently with this jighead.
The ned rig keeper will prevent soft plastic lures from working their way down the shank of the hook.
In addition, the different style keeper will not take out big chunks of soft plastic from your lures.
Overall, the keeper is very easy to work with and will strongly secure your soft plastic lures.
Soft Plastic Lure Recommendations
The flat head of the ned rig jighead makes the rig excel when fished with a TPE soft plastic lure.
Materials like TPE are tougher than other soft plastics.
The ned rig jighead is a perfect pairing to our Power Prawn Jr. artificial shrimp lure.
Also, the 3-inch Z-Man MinnowZ or the EZ ShrimpZ in Slam Shady color pair perfectly with the ned rig jighead.
When you bounce these lures along the bottom with this jighead, the lure will stand straight up.
This is the ideal presentation for bouncing lures along the bottom of a flat.
Other jigheads are designed for swimming lures through the water or quickly bouncing lures on the bottom.
The ned rig jighead allows lures to stand perfectly upright in between bounces.
Moreover, the Z-Man Pro ShroomZ Ned Rig Jighead will pair very well with our proprietary 3.5-inch paddletails.
The Slam Shady, F.R.E.D., and Gold Digger paddletails match up well with the ned rig jighead.
To enhance your presentation with these paddletails, you can even pinch off the tails to create a small jerk bait.
Then when you go fishing with that setup, the lure will bounce along the bottom like a marine worm.
The Gold Digger specifically should be a go-to with this type of presentation on super cold days in winter.
Ned Rig Jighead Review [VIDEO]
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Featured Equipment:
- Z-Man Pro ShroomZ Jighead
- Z-Man Slam Shady 3″ MinnowZ
- Power Prawn Jr.
- Gold Digger Paddletail
- F.R.E.D. Paddletail
- Z-Man Slam Shady EZ ShrimpZ
- Slam Shady 2.0
Conclusion
Although saltwater inshore anglers may be hesitant to try the ned rig jighead out on their next trip, it can add versatility to your fishing arsenal and set you up for the many scenarios we encounter out on the water.
The ned rig jighead provides a perfect vertical bounce along the bottom to imitate a shrimp or baitfish darting away quickly from predators.
Be sure to use the lightest weight jighead and lure possible to have the best presentation out on the water!!
Do you have any more questions on the ned rig jighead?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about the ned rig jighead review, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
P.S. – Want to know how to retrieve all the different types of inshore fishing lures in a variety of ways? Check out our Artificial Lure Retrieval Methods Mini-Course.
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How about Tripletail by a Marker? Wouldn’t the NED cause a “Tail Up” presentation of a “Power Prawn” or similar bait drop down the marker with that tail “flapping in the breeze” as it descended get some attention?
Interesting! I think that makes sense in theory. I’d definitely try that out!
Used Ned rigs last year without much success…fishing deeper water in the IR. What’s the preferred retrieve with this rig?
Preferably a hop-off-the-bottom presentation is recommended. Where exactly is IR (Indian River)? Be sure to use the appropriate weight size depending on the depth/current you are fishing in. I tend to prefer 1/4oz for most applications. If the 1/4oz does not work, it may require jumping up to the larger Mag ShroomZ Jig heads (which are the same but with a longer hook), and those go as large as a 3/8oz
Sorry…IR is Indian River. Must not have had enough wt, could not get the hop…it. was more like lay down and hide! Will increase wt & fish shallower H20 🙂
Dillard winters
Works great for hard to catch fish in summer and winter for past 2 years.
Ps for trout reds, flounder.
For sure, Dillard! It does.
I’ve never seen those. Thanks for sharing and for the breakdown.
Glad you liked the video, my man!
I just started experimenting with the NED rig this past Fall. My favorite pairing is with the ZMan TRD Hogz. I like to use this rig in really calm conditions around oyster mounds in the back creeks at low tide. The Reds absolutely pounce on them. I tie them on with a loop knot and either hop them or just drag them once or twice to get the attention of any nearby fish and then let the rig sit. The less I move it myself the more effective the rig seems to be. This is a really fun and effective technique that just takes a little patience.
Great intel here, Ron. I agree: it’s starting to become a little addicting figuring out New Ways to present plastics on these type of Jig Heads.
Great job breaking it down Justin! Was just chatting with Pat the other day about this and I was telling him I had been using these for a few years now in fresh water but haven’t used them in salt and he said make sure you try the pro and at that time I haven’t paid any attention to the larger size on the pro so I had to put a few packs on my list. Still be a few weeks or so before I get back to fishing here in NC pretty chilly and a long ride (4hrs) so I’ve been stocking up for the season and man I can hardly wait …. By the way I was in the casting contest with you at the meet up but we didn’t get a chance to chat but I did get to spend some time around the campfire with some of team 👍👍keep up the good work and geek out on some equipment 😬
Hey Greg! Good to hear from ya, Brother. Yeah Pat & Matt gave great testimonials to these jig heads, and after 2 successful trips this year I can understand why. Great product for finesse applications! Have a great week! I’ll keep the Tackle Tips coming 🙂
They would need to weight about 2 oz. for me to use them in my tidal rivers here in the North East…….Do they make them that big? I could see using this to imitate eels on the bottom in the Striper water…..
Yeah, I can see it being a challenge presenting these type of jig heads in very deep water, or in areas with super strong current. They excel in shallower water scenarios (less than 6-7ft).
We do carry the Mag ShroomZ Jig Head in a 3/8oz size that should work on the lull-part of the tide swings. They have a longer shank for the hook, but will work well with 4-5″ soft plastics.
loop knort or cinch knot?
Loop knot would be the preferred method. Good question Drew!
Justin
great job. A good follow up video would be to use the Ned head and pair it with other soft plastics (DOA, saltwater assassin, mirrOlure, etc) to show which soft plastic stand up and which do not. You touched on it briefly that it works well with ZMan because of its buoyancy. Some of the other plastics, although great baits, aren’t as buoyant and it does not work. There is some misinformation out there how other plastics standup and they don’t.
Capt. Bobby Brewer
Thanks Capt. Bobby, and good point. The video clips of the Power Prawn standing up were actually our Power Prawn USA plastics, which are made from traditional Plastisol (not the more buoyant TPE material). Surprisingly, it did work well with the less-buoyant Power Prawn, but I’ll agree it does perform better with TPE material lures.
I agree… I like my ned style baits to stand up, with floating baits. I used to think non floating baits didn’t work, as well, until I did major research and testing. Other Ned baits that don’t float, STILL catch fish extremely well. The strike king Ned Ocho, roboworm Ned, zoom, senko Ned, googan rattling Ned (which is actually fire), and countless others.. are arguably just as good. Most people say that the fish hits “on the fall”… which would mean, it doesn’t really matter what it’s doing on the bottom, floating or not. If it moves in the fishes face, in a finesse type presentation, it’s probably gonna get bit. Plus, a lot of bait makers use 100% plastisol with no salt, which actually is fairly buoyant. High salt lures could also be used as a fast fall type presentation, triggering a reaction strike. It’s all situational. But like I said, 90% of the time, I’m using Zman. The durability alone, with the high buoyancy.. hard to beat.
Been using TRDs for over a year caught one of my biggest reds and lots of trout the slower you fish it the better.
Awesome to hear, Marshall!